Happy Halloween!
by xxkatrina
Summary: It's just a sick Halloween prank with 'zombies' rambling about the town... right? Well, three people and a whole town are about to find out.
1. Surprise?

Katie looked longingly at her Aunt Ana's photo, holding it in her hands. Katie had called her many times, trying to get a hold of her, but for some reason, Ana never answered. Katie, being only ten, thought that it was no big deal. She also thought it was just that Ana never picked up her cellphone or her house phone. Katie placed the photo back on the counter-top, and pushed some of her long, brown bangs out of her eyes. She decided to call Ana once more. She turned around to get the phone in the kitchen and screamed. In front of her stood a figure that had dry blood on it, with teared-off skin, revealing the bones under it. Katie shrieked again. The figure took off it's mask, chuckling.

"Katie, it's just me, Tom."

"_Tom_!" Katie cried in disbelief. She gaped at her eighteen-year-old brother, who was beaming down a smile at her. He broke into a laugh. She slapped him on the chest hard. "_How could you_?"

"Um, happy Halloween?" he said, still chuckling. Katie rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Yeah. Right."

"Aren't you going to dress up for old times sake? I mean, don't you think scaring the skin off of little kids is fun?" Tom asked, messing up his scruffy dark-blonde hair with his hand. "And besides, I can't leave you home alone. You know Mom and Dad will kill me when they came back from the trip, if I do. Which I won't. So get dressed, and hurry up."

Katie rolled her eyes again. "Scare little kids? What are you, _two_?"

"_What_? I love Halloween! It's not about the candy, it's about the scares!" Tom cried. He gave Katie a spooky laugh. Katie sighed, thinking Tom was just plain foolish. She sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV.

"You're going to watch the news on Halloween? What are you, _crazy_?" Tom said. He took off his suit, revealing a plain white shirt and jeans underneath. It was Tom's turn to sigh. "Fine. I give up. We'll go outside later, then." He plopped onto the sofa next to Katie, resting his elbow on the arm, and his chin was in his hand. He sighed again, then sat up, looking at the urgent signs on the news.

"What's that about?...," he mumbled to himself under his breath. He stood up, then walked to the TV and sat down on the table in front of it. Katie and him peered at the TV, as if they hypnotized. Katie gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

"D-Deaths?" Katie stammered. She listened to the news for a moment. "Thousands of deaths?" Then she stopped. "Wait. Isn't that where Aunt Ana and that guy she talks about live?" Katie's eyes widened. "I wish Mom and Dad were here..."

"Oh my God." Tom stood up and moved to the sofa again. "I have to watch the news more often."

"_Please_," the anchorman pleaded. "Please stay inside of your homes. Do not try to reach loved ones, for it may be too late. Do not, I repeat, do not go outside. Lock all of your doors and lock all of the hatches on your windows immediately. Please, I repeat, you do not know what lurks outs-" The connection stopped, and the screen suddenly turned to a line of colors. The TV made a long noise. Katie jumped when she heard a knock on the door. Katie slowly turned to Tom.

"Should we open it?" Katie asked, whispering. Then they heard the childish voices saying, "Trick-or-treat!" Tom exhaled a big breath, then got the candy and opened the door.

"Hey," he said, turning around to face Katie. "They're just happy trick-or-treaters." He turned back to the kids who were smiling up at Tom in their childish costumes. He looked outside the porch and saw two adults, who Tom assumed were these children's parents. They were all girls. One was dressed as a ballerina, another one was dressed as a cheerleader, and the last one wasn't dressed at all.

"What are you supposed to be dressed as?" Tom asked the girl, as he gave them all candy.

"Well, I'm dressed as _me_," the girl said. The one on the very right smiled shyly at Tom.

"You're cute," she said, giggling. The other ones giggled, as the ordinarily-dressed one rolled her eyes. Tom looked behind him and saw Katie looking blankly at the TV.

"Um... thanks," Tom said to the girl. He shrugged and closed the door. "Couple of weirdoes..." He walked over to Katie and told her, "I'm going to go lock the windows and stuff... If anyone comes to trick-or-treat again, don't open the door." He turned to walk away, but stopped. He turned to face Katie again. "Oh, and stay here. And please, close the curtains." He took a last glance at the dark night sky and turned to leave. Katie felt nervous waves rise in her body, knowing that she was all alone. She silently made her way to the windows, taking fast strides. She quickly shut the window and locked it, then pulled the curtains over it. Biting her lower lip, she didn't want to turn around. Katie loves to watch scary movies, and sometimes can't help but think of the scary things that can happen. She turned around quickly, nearly knocking over a plant next to her. She sighed, smiling for thinking of such a thing. Suddenly the doorbell rang, which made her jump.

"_Ouch_!" Tom cried. Then he yelled down to Katie, "Uh, sorry, Katie, I jammed my toe on something." Katie heard him mumble, "Damn table."

The trick-or-treater started to bang the door. Hard. Katie couldn't help it. She walked to the door and opened it about an inch. The little girl from earlier was outside, crying.

"Please, let me in," she begged. "Please, Miss, please." Katie opened the door quickly and let her in. She looked at her with a confused expression. The girl had to be seven or so, Katie noticed. She kneeled next to her. Katie locked the door, almost forgetting.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked, trying to calm her down. "And where are your mommy and daddy at?" The little girl turned to face Katie, and she let her arms drop to her side.

"I don't know," the girl said. "They left. And Alana and Sammy, my two bestest friends in the whole wide world, were attacked by these ugly-looking men, and then I ran away, and they started to chase me. So I ended up coming here." She started to sob again. Katie tried to force back a worried face, but that didn't help. Tom came down the stairs, and jumped when he saw the little girl.

"Who's _that_?" Tom asked. "Wait, isn't that...? Katie, I told you not to let anyone in!"

"It's not my fault!" Katie cried at him. She put her hair behind her ears. "She was begging for me to let her in. S-Something's out there, Tom. Something _bad_."


	2. Escape

**Author's Note:** Err... Things will get more interesting later. :) Wow. I'm no where near finished. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And thanks for reviewing :D

* * *

At least half an hour had past, and Tom was pacing back and forth in front of the TV, which was off. The little girl, whose name was Hailey, sat next to Katie on the couch. All of the windows and doors were locked, and it was quiet.

"So, Tom... What are you thinking?" Katie asked, breaking the silence. Startled, Tom faced Katie.

"I don't know," Tom said, sighing. "It's just that... maybe-" he turned to face Hailey "-the people that chased your friends were pranksters, and you just got scared. I mean, it could happen. There's nothing wrong with that. It is Halloween..."

"Yeah, but explain the _news_," Katie said in an irritated tone. She frowned.

"_And how am I supposed to do that_?" Tom cried out. Hailey sunk back in her seat, scared. Tom sighed and calmed down when he saw that Hailey was about to break into tears. "I'm trying to think here, okay? Why don't you help me for-"

Tom was interrupted when he heard a bang on the window. The window was covered by a curtain, so they had no clue what had hit it. Katie jumped and Hailey screamed, which was her first instinct on what to do. Tom, startled and shocked, stared at the window for a long time. Then he walked slowly and made his way to it. Once he reached it, he stopped and took in a deep breath, then put his hand on the curtain. He heard scraping sounds and a loud, bloodcurdling moan on the other side. He pulled the curtain aside quickly and gasped. On the other side of a window was a rotten, dead-looking, blood-scraped figure. Katie and Hailey screamed in unison. Tom draped the curtain back over the window quickly, then stumbled back, falling on his back.

"_Oh my_-!" Katie cried, speechless. "Tom, what_ was_ that thing? And why did it look like your Halloween costume? Please say that it's the same as yours...!"

"We're leaving," Tom said quickly. Katie stared at Tom with her mouth opened in a large 'O'. Hailey looked confused.

"_Excuse me_?" Katie asked. "With those things out there? Are you _nuts_!" Even as she denied going, she and Hailey still stood up from the sofa. Katie sighed. "If we die, it's your fault, Thomas. Imagine the looks on Mom and Dad's f-"

"Shut up, Katie! Just... shut up," Tom said, not knowing if he was more sad or mad. He shook his head. "Just get your jacket, and something for the little squirt to wear. Oh, and you better take a snack with you, too. We're not taking any stops." Tom looked at the only radio in the house, and picked it up, as Katie and Hailey went upstairs. He started to tune it, until he found a station that worked. He listened carefully.

"What was that, officer? Oh. Okay, for all you folks out there, shoot those bitches in the head or burn 'em and they seem to 'die'- or, I mean, stay 'down' permanently. As for you, do not get bit, I repeat, stay away from-" The radio dropped dead silent. Tom looked at it with a confused expression. He sighed, and sat down on the sofa, waiting for Katie and Hailey to come back downstairs.

"I guess I'll have to make a stop at Jerry's Gun Shop, then...," Tom said, yawning.

* * *

"AAH! _TOM_!"

Tom awoke, shaking his head tiredly. Then when he heard another scream, he sat upright. He stood up and ran to the bottom of the stairs. Hailey ran down the stairs, her face drained of color. Tom ran up the stairs quickly, and ran to the attic. Katie was huddled up in a corner, because he could hear her screams still. It was pitch black. What the heck were they doing in the damn attic? he wondered. He picked up a flashlight and a crowbar that were on the floor. He switched the flashlight on and almost dropped it. Just like the thing outside, the figure was slowly making its way to Katie. She was huddled up in the corner.

"Katie! Hold on!" Tom cried. Dropping the flashlight, he ran over to the figure and gripped the crowbar as if it were a baseball bat, and swung it at the figure's head. It moaned and dropped to the ground, lifeless. He took Katie's hand and told her, "I'm sorry, I left the attic window open, I guess. It must've climbed in by the damn ladder Dad left outside." Then he stopped and thought. "Shit, they can climb stuff too?"

The two of them ran downstairs, and saw a crying Hailey. "You left...," she whispered, sobbing lightly. "You left me all alone."

"Sorry," Tom said. He picked Hailey up and turned to Katie. "Ready?" Katie nodded reluctantly. She thought, God knows what's out there... "Okay, on three, we run outside as fast as we can to the car, okay?" He griped his keys tightly, while still carrying Hailey. "One, two... three!"

Tom opened the door and him and Katie ran onto the porch, and they're eyes widened. There were hundreds, and most of them kids in their Halloween costumes. Katie gasped, but had no hesitation running to the car door. The doors were locked still, and Tom fumbled with the keys.

"Open the doors!" Katie cried frantically. "Tom! Open the freaking doors!" Then she turned to face the living dead. All eyes were on her.

* * *

**Author's Note (again):** Hmm... Did you like it:) I hope you did. I'll update soon! Promise! 


	3. Asthma

Tom hurriedly unlocked the doors and shoved Hailey in the car. Katie took her eyes off of the zombies, then jumped inside the car, fumbling with the lock on the inside. Hailey crawled into the backseat from the front, and when something jumped on the top of the car, Hailey slunk back in her seat. She forced herself not to scream. Tom started the car and hurriedly backed it up.

"Where are we going to go?" Katie asked.

"Gun shop," Tom quickly replied.

"Are you crazy? You're going to go outside with those things out there?" Katie asked, shocked. Tom looked at her in the rearview mirror, frowning.

"Why? You want to go down with me, too?" he asked. Hailey shook her head.

"I'll stay in here," Hailey peeped. Katie sighed.

"Where's the shop?" she asked. Tom shook his head.

"Across town."

* * *

"There it is!" Tom cried. Hailey looked out the window, and noticed that some kids were still outside.

"Why aren't these kids running away? Why are they still trick or treating?" she asked, confused. "We have to tell them that those thingies are coming! They're all going to get hurt!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Tom said. "No one notified us, and right now the only important thing right now, is us. So I'll be back. If you see those 'things', go on the floor of the car. Hopefully they won't see you."

"Just go!" Katie cried. Tom nodded. "And hurry back! I don't like being alone!... Well, I'm not alone, but - just go!"

Without hesitation, Tom got out of the car and locked the doors. He disappeared into the gun store. Hailey took slow, deep breaths next to Katie. Confused, Katie turned to face her. Hailey's face was drained of color still, and she looked worse than ever.

"Hailey?" Katie said. "What's the matter?"

"M-M-My inhaler... I left it at your house...," she said, breathing in deep breaths between every other word. Katie's eyes widened. She could have an asthma attack easily under circumstances like this, Katie thought suddenly. She had to tell Tom... but how?

"You left your inhaler at my house?" Katie asked. "You don't have an extra one?" Hailey shook her head. "Oh my God."

"Are there inhalers in the store?" Hailey asked, sitting up right. Katie nodded reluctantly. She didn't like what Hailey was implying...

"I need to get you one in the store," Katie said hesitantly. "I'll be right b-"

"No!" Hailey cried, gasping. "I-I wanna come, too. I don't want to be alone."

"Okay, okay," Katie said. "I don't want to come back out here with those things out here, too. So hurry up and get out of the car." Katie and Hailey hurriedly rushed out of the car and ran to the entrance. Tom looked at them, startled, when he heard the door bell ring. He had a confused expression on.

"What-?" Tom said. He couldn't even finish his question, for he was speechless.

"I-It's Hailey," Katie stammered. "She has, uh - she needs an inhaler."

"What?" Tom cried. He put a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Then pray to God that there'll be one in here. C'mon, let's go see." Then he mumbled, "Like there would be an inhaler in a gun store."

Tom walked to the counter. The man who was standing there was gone. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it, after realizing he had nothing to say. He knew what was going on already. He broke the glass containers where the guns were placed, and took all he could carry, with ammo.

"Get in the car!" Tom cried. Then he turned to Katie and Hailey, who were already making there way outside. He ran out the doors after them, and realized that it was quiet. A little too quiet, perhaps. Katie and Hailey got inside and locked their doors behind them. Katie looked at Hailey worriedly.

"Inhale deep, big breaths," Katie instructed. She had learned this in the fourth grade when a boy in her class forgot his inhaler at his house. "Big breaths, Hailey. Don't look anywhere, but at me. Okay? Don't look anywhere but me..." Katie chanted it over and over to Hailey, and got her breathing normally in no time. Hailey smiled at Katie gratefully. Then Katie remembered Tom. Where in the world was he? Katie reluctantly looked out the window and screamed. A zombie was on top of Tom. Her eyes widened.

" H-Hailey! Don't look out the w-window! Look down, Hailey, look down!" Katie cried. She couldn't take her eyes off of what was outside the window. Katie bit her lower lip hard. She witnessed Tom shooting the zombie in the head. Katie gasped.

"What's going on?" Hailey asked innocently. Katie turned to her and noticed she was still looking at the ground.

"S-Something you don't want to-" Katie started to say. But she was interrupted when something banged against the car, making it shake roughly. Hailey and Katie screamed, getting Tom's attention. He withdrew himself from under the bloody figure and shot the zombie who had hit the car. He climbed in reluctantly.

"A-Are you hurt, Tom?" Katie asked. Tom shook his head slowly.

"N-No," he stammered. "I, uh... didn't."

"You didn't what?" Katie asked suspiciously. "What are you talking about, Tom?"

"Where are we going now?" Hailey asked, crying. "Please say that they aren't going to be wherever we're going."

"I wish that, too," Tom said, sighing. He turned left on the street hurriedly and ended up in the middle of many buildings. He looked around, not knowing what to do or where to go. Then he noticed that one of the buildings had paint on the side that read, 'ALIVE INSIDE'.


	4. Others

**Author's Note: **AAH! Sorry I didn't update sooner! I went on vacation! ( Well, I'm not going anywhere anymore, so I'll update sooner next time.

* * *

"Alive inside," Tom mumbled. Hailey and Katie were also staring at the building, surprised. "Hold on, you guys." 

"Okay," Hailey said. She looked out the window. "We're headed to a restaurant?" Katie thought he heard a grunt of pain come from Tom. She looked at him, confused. She was going to ask what was wrong, but Tom got out of the car. He hurriedly gestured for Hailey and Katie to get out, too, so they did.

At the door, Tom banged it hard, using his gun, his hands, and his shoes to hit the door at different times. The door opened about an inch, and a head stuck out.

"What?" the girl asked.

"What do you mean 'what'?" Tom asked. "We're people standing outside a door waiting for you to let us in -" then he paused "- so let us in."

"Any of you bitten?" she asked. "Or did any of you get injured by those _things_?"

"No," Tom said sternly. He held the side of the door. "Now let us in, please, before those things appear again." The woman let them in, then shut the door tightly. There was another man there, Katie noticed. She stared at him with a confused expression, and the woman seemed to notice. She chuckled.

"I'm Maia, and this is Matt, my oh-so-lucky neighbor," she said, pointing to the man. He smiled politely at Katie, Hailey and Tom, who smiled politely back at him.

"I'm Katie," Katie said, then pointed to Hailey and Tom. "And this is my brother, Tom, and my, uh, _friend_ Hailey."

Maia simply smile and said, "Nice to meet you guys." Tom nodded, not looking at her. She brushed some hair out of her eyes and asked, "How'd you guys get here? I mean… we're in the middle of no where." She chuckled lightly.

Tom shrugged. "Looked out the window on a Halloween night, got in a car, ended up… here." He sighed. "Dammit."

"Are those thingies going to come back?" Hailey asked, frightened. She slunk back in one of the booths. "They're not coming back, right? Right?"

Maia shrugged. "Actually, I don't really know, so -" She was interrupted by a bang that came from inside the kitchen. They all stared at the locked kitchen door, surprised. Tom made his way to it so he was at least three or four feet from the door. He looked at Maia sternly and seriously and asked, "Did you lock the kitchen door?" She nodded nervously.

"No, no," Tom said, chuckling lightly in disbelief. "The door _inside_ the kitchen that leads to the outside. You _do_ know that there's a door inside the kitchen, right?"

"Uh…no." Maia's eyes widened. Katie crossed her arms, not knowing if she were mad, sad, or terrified. Matt stood up.

"I…better go close it," he said, making his way to the door. But Tom stopped him by putting his arm in front of Matt. Tom shook his head.

"They might be in the kitchen already," Tom informed everyone. Hailey pulled his legs close to her, while Katie sat down next to her. Katie rested her elbow on the table, with her chin in her hand. She looked at Tom, and her eyes gazed over a mark on his jacket. Her eyes narrowed, as she looked closer. There was a terrible rip that she hadn't noticed before. And something red on it… Blood? She thought. She gasped, then looked at Tom, who was looking confusedly at her.

"Um…is something wrong?" he asked, perking an eyebrow up. Katie pointed to his jacket, and he took it off and stared at his arm. Maia grabbed her gun and pointed it at him.

"I swear to God," Tom said, raising his hands up in defense, "that I did not get bitten. Look! It's a scratch or something!" He lifted the sleeve of his bloody white shirt. And it definitely was a scratch. And by the way Maia saw it, he was bleeding like crazy.

"Like I said," Matt said. "I'll go close it." He unlocked the door that lead to the kitchen and peeked inside. It was dead quiet, and the other door was all the way across the room. He sighed, then closed the door and got his gun. "I'll be right back." Then he disappeared through the doors.

"Um, he's coming back, right?" Katie asked. Tom frowned at her.

"Of course," he said, putting a hand over his scar. Katie looked at Hailey, who was sound asleep, her face on the table. She stared at her, dumbfounded. How could someone sleep in a time like _this_? She thought to herself. She shrugged off the thought and turned to Tom again.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked. "The cut, I mean."

"I don't know, Katie," Tom replied. "We're in a freaking restaurant. What can I do?"

"I think there's a first-aid kit around here somewhere," Maia said, thinking deeply. Then she sort of 'brightened'. "Yes! There's one in the kitchen!" She looked at Tom and said, smiling, "I'll be right back."

"No, Maia, wait-!" Tom cried. He tried to grab Maia's arm, but she was too fast. She disappeared into the kitchen. Tom sighed and put his head back, releasing a moan of agony. He muttered, "She's whack. Just going in their like that." Then he smiled to himself.

"What was that?" Katie said, making it sound like more of a statement than a question. Her eyes widened when she heard another roar of a bang come from the kitchen. "There it is again."

"…Maia?" Tom asked, walking slowly to the door. "Matt…is that you?" He put a hand on the door and opened it.


	5. Trouble

Tom opened the door to find Matt struggling with the other door that led to the outside. Maia was helping him and Tom saw that there was a blood-stained hand trying to get in. He frowned in disgust and ran over to help. He ran against the door and shoved it as hard as he could with his left shoulder, crying out in pain once he hit the door. The door shut with a slam, and the hand was cut off and on the ground. Tom fell to the ground and put a hand over the cut that was still on his arm.

"Oh my God, Tom! Are you okay?" Maia asked, falling down on the ground next to him. She held out the first-aid kit and gave a weak smile. "Well, I found it."

"Let's get out of here, please and thank you," Mata said, already heading for the door. Then he turned to the two who were still sitting on the floor, "Unless, of course, you'd like to stay."

"Okay, okay," Maia said, standing up. She gave a helping hand to Tom who took it. "We're coming, we're coming."

"What were you doing?" Katie whispered to Tom once he appeared in the room again. "Why were you gone for so long?"

Tom looked around confusedly and whispered back, "Why are we whispering?"

"Hailey's sleeping," Katie replied, smiling. She pointed at Hailey, who was still sound asleep. Maia smiled at the sight. Then when Katie looked at Tom's arm again and remembered, she asked, "Did you get the first-aid?"

"Yeah," Maia said, nodding. She held it up for Katie to see. Katie smiled when she saw it. Katie ran over to Tom and gave him a big bear hug. Tom gave a tiny, weak smile and hugged her back.

"I thought you were gone," Katie mumbled into Tom's side, near tears. "I thought you were already gone."

"Aw, c'mon, Katie," Tom said, kneeling in front of her. He placed his hands right below her shoulders. "I'm still here, aren't I? Now go get some sleep with Hailey. It's what? 2 'o clock in the morning?" He gestured for her to sit on the booth again, so Katie went to the booth and laid down on it and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep. Tom got a chair and dragged it over to the table where Hailey and Katie were sitting at. He sat down on it and stared at the two of them, sighing. He had a lop-sided smile.

"What's with the filthygrin?" Maia asked, getting a chair and placing it next to Tom's. She sat down on it and waited for Tom to answer.

"Nah," Tom said, sighing. His smile disappeared and he looked down. "It's just that with my parents gone it's like Hailey and Katie are treating me as if I were their parents. I no nothing about being a parent."

"Hmm," Maia said, thinking. "I think I can help. I mean, I used to baby-sit my cousins once a week. I miss them lots. They were little still, at least four or five. So, yeah, I can help you with that one thing."

"It's nice to see you two bonding through this disaster," Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"Is he an ass?" Tom asked Maia quietly.

Maia shook her head and replied, "When he's cranky, he's cranky. You'll get used to it. Promise. I did, after knowing him for at least two years now." She smiled and told him, "Just forget him, I guess."

But Tom was already sleeping in his chair, with his head on his arms, which were resting on the table. Maia smiled again said quietly, "'Night, Tom." And swore that she could see a grin tugging on the side of his lips. She stood up from the chair and sat down on a table, the gun now in her hands.

"So... we just wait now?" Matt asked Maia, careful not to wake anyone.

"Afraid so," Maia said, sighing. She felt truly sorry for Tom and his family, and especially Hailey who had no idea where her family was. But Maia also felt sorry for herself and her family, for she had to leave her little cousins behind in her Aunt's house because it was too late. Tears came to her eyes thinking of those thoughts and gave the gun to Matt and asked him, "Can you stay guard tonight, Matt? Please?"

"Sure," Matt said, getting the gun. "Goodnight, Maia."

"Goodnight, Matt," Maia said. "I'll stay guard tomorrow night."

"If there's a tomorrow night," Matt said, looking out the curtain-covered windows. He looked back down and sighed. Maia sat in the booth next to Hailey and fell asleep.

**--------------**

"Maia!" a voice cried silently, shaking Maia's arm. "Maia! You have to wake up now! Hey!" Someone shook her harder and cried, "MAIA!"

"What?" Maia mumbled, opening her eyes.

"We have to go to the kitchen!" Tom cried. "Matt, Hailey, and Katie are already there. C'mon, we can't stay here! They're breaking in!" Maia sat upright, now alert. She looked around the room and noticed most of the windows were smashed. She got up hurriedly and ran for the kitchen.

Inside, Hailey and Katie were crying again. Tom closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Maia got his arm and pulled him to the middle of the room where everyone else was at.

"What do we do now?" Katie asked, between sobs.

"We wait," Tom said.

"Wait until what?" Hailey asked, in the innocent tone she used. When Tom didn't answer, Maia bowed her head sadly.


	6. The Attic

"Okay, what do we do now?" Matt asked, as he watched Tom pace around the room back and forth. It had been at least half an hour when they first entered the room. "I mean, there's nothing to-!" But he was quickly interrupted by the sound of banging. Constant, loud banging from the back door that led outside.

"What do we do?" Katie asked frantically. "_What do we do_?"

"Is it them?" Hailey asked quietly. Then she asked louder in a more frantic tone, "It's not them, right?"

"Now, now," Maia said. She put a finger to her lips, gesturing for them to be quiet. "Shh..." Maia walked over to the door and stomped her foot on the ground angrily. She said out loud to no one, "If there was a little window hole we would be able to see what's banging on the other side!"

"Wait," Tom said, standing next to her. He looked inside the little hole that was right under the doorknob. He squinted his eyes and tried to get a better view. Tom backed up and told Maia, "I see pants. That's all." He shrugged, and Maia grabbed the doorknob.

"Ready?" she asked Tom. He nodded and she opened the door at least an inch.

"HELP!" they heard. "Please let us in!"

"Let 'em in!" Matt cried, uncrossing his arms. He got off from the counter and ran over to Tom and Maia. He looked outside to see a man and, by the looks of it, his wife or sister. Maia opened the door wider and let them in hurriedly. The man collapsed on the ground, obviously tired.

"How'd you get here?" Tom asked, rushing over to the man's side.

"Are any of you two bitten?" Maia asked, looking at the woman, then at the man, then back at the woman.

"Nah," the woman said, shaking her head. "We don't live to far from here. One of the apartments next to this building is ours. We used to come here a lot to get food and other things. Oh, and I'm Kate, and this is my brother, Donald."

"HELLO?" Matt asked, panting heavily. Tom and Maia, who had paid no attention of the door, looked back at Matt and gasped. "T-The door! Help! It won't close. Something on t-the other side is trying to open it...!"

"Whoa," Tom said, and put both of his hands on the door and started to push with all his might. Maia also helped by putting her shoulder against the door and pushing.

"Why won't it close?" Maia asked frantically. "What's on the other side?"

"Believe me," Tom said, looking outside. His eyes widened. "I-I don't think you want to know..."

"Stop crying," Katie begged Hailey. But Hailey wouldn't stop. "C'mon, please, just stop..."

"Okay, uh, wait," Tom said, backing away from the door. Maia shot him a confused glance. But then Tom rushed to the door, doing the same thing as he did earlier, and hit the door with his right arm. This time he wouldn't make the mistake of hitting the door with his injured arm. The door abruptly slammed shut. Tom felt a smile tug at the side of his lips.

"Well, we could've done that...," Matt mumbled.

"What do we do now?" Donald asked. "We're stuck. Their outside the kitchen, and their also outside the building. And you know what? There's no way of getting out of here, is there! Every place you turn to you expect peace and quietness, but NO, now you see hordes of - things!"

"Okay, _okay_," Matt muttered. "Stop complaining! Jeez. Everybody has something to complain about, not just you. So just... shut up!"

"This, apparently, has all gone to our heads," Tom said, rolling his eyes. Then he saw the glares that everybody but Hailey, Katie, and Maia gave him. He rose his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Sorry." That's when they all heard it. The constant, slow banging on both sides of the doors.

"Uh... You don't think that it's other people, you suppose?" Matt asked, shooting worried glances at everyone.

"I don't think so," Maia said. She walked over to Katie and Hailey, then picked them up one by one and placed them on the counter. She realized that they were both light... Wait, she thought. Who cares about that right now?

"What do we do?" Katie asked. "Someone has to know what to do now, right? Right!"

"Katie!" Tom cried, putting his head in his hands. "Just...please. We're thinking."

"Well, think faster," Matt said, as he looked at the bolts on the door. "I don't think we have all eternity anymore, Tom." Then he stumbled backwards as he saw a bolt that was starting to be removed. "Tom!"

"I-I'm thinking!" Tom cried hesitantly.

"Oh no," Maia said, as one of the bolts fell to the ground with a clank. She shut her eyes tightly, then looked at Tom, who was still deep in thought. C'mon, Tom..., she silently chanted. He had to think of something. She looked up in frustration then her eyes widened at what she saw.

"I have an idea!" she suddenly cried, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. "Katie, Hailey you two are going in first."

"Huh?" Tom said, as he looked up to where Maia was looking. "The attic! Yes!" He walked over to Katie and Hailey, picking them up one by one and placing them on the floor. He shot Maia a thankful smile, then leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She seemed flustered at first, then shook her head it. She stood on the counter and told Katie and Maia that they were going to go in right after them.

"What's up there?" Hailey asked.

"Nothing," Maia said, as she picked Hailey up and held her up to the attic entrance. "Climb in, Hailey!" Hailey did as told. She disappeared into the attic and Maia felt like celebrating. She picked Katie up with Tom's help and they all started climbing in.


	7. The Rush

**Author's Note**: Well, school is starting soon so I'm trying to get this fic done! I'm not going to rush through the story, though. Heh. It just means that I'll update less. Enjoy!

**-----------------**

"AH!" Hailey cried, looking around frantically. "Spiders, spiders, spiders! There are creepy-crawlies everywhere!"

"Creepy-crawlies?" Matt asked, looking at Hailey with a grossed-out face. "What the hell is a 'creepy-crawly'?... If there is such a thing."

"Never mind that," Maia said, shutting the attic door behind Donald. She looked to see if everyone was there, and they were. Then she said aloud, "How long do you think we're going to be up here?"

"UGH," Tom groaned, slapping himself on the head. No one even bothered to answer Maia's question.He looked at Maia and said quickly, "I have to get things down there. Can you open up the attic again, please?"

"'_Things_'?" Kate asked. "What 'things' could we possibly need up here?"

"Well, uh, I don't know," Matt said sarcastically. "Our heads were in a pretty fast-thinking mode when we all climbed up here that we forgot that we just came from a kitchen, and inside kitchens' there are-"

"Food," Katie mumbled, cutting Matt off.

"Yes, food," Matt said, frowning at Katie for interrupting him. "Uh...how are we going to get the water and stuff up here?"

"It'll be a bundle of joy if you come with me," Tom said, rolling his eyes. Maia quickly opened the attic down and Tom jumped out, and was quickly followed by Matt.

"Hurry up!" Katie cried, leaning over the attic and looking out. She peeked out and looked at both of the doors, and could still hear the constant banging. "Tom! Hurry up! They're not going to wait for you two!"

"She's right," Maia yelled to the two of them. "There's no time for you two to get the food and run back and forth! Throw it up here to us and we'll catch 'em! Now, hurry up!"

"We're coming, we're _coming_!" Matt said, holding packages of different food under his arms. He placed them on the counter and started throwing them up at Maia. He threw up the bread, and she caught it, then Tom appeared with a lot of water bottles. He started throwing them up, too, and Kate and Donald started to catch them. Katie moved out of the way and crawled over to Hailey.

"Are they coming back?" Hailey asked her nervously. Katie nodded slowly; reluctantly, as if she wanted to believe her own answer. "You sure?"

"Yeah, positive," Katie replied, nodding still.

"Hurry!" Katie heard Matt scream. "Tom, hurry up and get up here now!" Katie turned to Matt, who was up in the attic already. He was over the edge, and one of his arms were out to try and get Tom. Tom cried something back, but Katie couldn't hear it over the muffled banging and moaning. Then she stopped breathing. Moaning. She heard moaning. But where was it coming from?

"TOM!" Maia shrieked, and she offered her hand hurriedly to him. Katie suddenly saw him climb into the attic with more food and fall down on the floor, breathing heavily. Katie put a hand over her heart and exhaled a deep breath of relief.

"Don't do that ever, ever again," Maia told Tom and Matt, panting heavilyfrom suspense.

"Don't think we have much of a choice," Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"Did they break in?" Donald asked. Then he repeated, "Did they break in?"

"...Yes. Yes, they did," Tom said, shutting his eyes and sighing. Their was a long moment's silence, while everyone tried to take in what they were now doing.

"Are we going to stay here forever?" Hailey asked curiously.

"I don't know," Kate answered, sighing. She looked at Hailey and smiled weakly, trying to comfort her. "Hopefully not."

**-----------------**

"Shh...," Maia said, putting a finger to her lips. Tom looked at her with curiosity and confusion in his eyes. "Shh, Tom. Just listen."

"Okay," Tom muttered, listening. He didn't hear anything, so he looked at Maia with more confusion. "Uh, I don't hear anything."

Maia smiled hopefully. "Exactly." Tom then realized what she was implying. There was no more banging, no more moaning, no more sound at all. But that must mean that they've stopped, Tom thought. He grinned happily. They stopped!

"Do you think we should wake the others?" Maia asked, looking at everybody else. They were all sound asleep. It had been at least five or six hours since they had climbed into the attic. Tom shook his head and started to slowly open the attic. The whole kitchen was empty. Tom and Maia peered at both doors, that were both on the floor. Maia frowned in disgust at the blood stains all over the place. Tom peered all around the kitchen, and began to slow, slowly climb out. At first he was reluctant, but then he was sure that the kitchen was empty. And it was.

"It's so empty," Maia said, getting down with Tom's help. "Why? Where'd they go?"

Tom shrugged and replied, "Wherever they wanted to. Like us, they left."

"You guys!" Matt cried in a hushed tone. Tom and Maia both jumped, then looked up at the attic confusedly. Matt was frowning at them. "Thank you for leaving me in a room with some woman, some man, and two little girls. Yes, yes, just thank you."

"Well, come down here then," Maia said told him, frowning back.

"Well, well, what were you two doing?" Matt asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, like we'd do something in a time like this," Tom said, rolling his eyes.

"So...now what?" Tom asked.

"Hell with this," Matt said. "I need to, uh, do something." And with no other words, he walked outside.

"There's none out there, right?" Maia asked. When Tom didn't answer, she cried out, "MATT!"


	8. Seperation

**Author's Note**: Heh. Sorry, but it's kind of short...

**---------------------**

"No!" Tom said in a hushed tone, putting a hand over Maia's mouth. She stared at him with disbelief. Tom gave her a pleading look and whispered, "No. You might attract unwanted 'attention'."

"But what about Matt?" Maia asked, pushing his hand away.

"I'm sure that he's perfectly fine," Tom said. "After all, I don't possibly think that he can be that stupid. If there was danger outside, anyway, he would be running inside right n-"

"OH MY GOD!" Matt cried, running inside the door.

"What a coincidence," Tom said, rolling his eyes. He hurriedly stepped on the table again and helped Maia up. Matt climbed on top himself, and quickly climbed in the attic, causing a racket. Tom signaled for him to shut up. He shrugged in reply. Maia climbed in right after, and offered Tom a helpful hand. But he didn't take it, for he quickly jumped off the counter and grabbed the door that was still on the ground. He picked it up and placed it in front of the bare opening.

"Tom, hurry!" Maia cried, forgetting that some of them were still asleep. "Tom!"

Tom looked behind him and his eyes widened. Confused and panicked, Maia followed his gaze and shrieked. There were tons of zombies scrambling in slowly. Tom knew he would never make it, even if he tried. He would get bitten in order to go over to Maia. When Maia looked back at him, he shook his head slowly.

"TOM! No!" she cried. "You can't leave! You just can't! There are creatures on both sides!"

"I-I have to," he said, backing up. He hurriedly turned around and got the door off of the wall, slamming it on the ground. He began to run outside, then gave one last glance at Maia and left. Tears suddenly blurred Maia's vision.

"Tom!" she cried, feeling the tears go down her cheeks. "Tom..."

"Tom? Ah, what happened! What do you mean 'Tom'?" Matt suddenly asked, leaning over the attic next to Maia. He peered out and cried, "For God's sake he's GONE!"

"Mm...," Katie mumbled, shaking her head. She was half-asleep and half-awake. She opened her eyes and slowly and yawned, sitting up. Her eyes widened. "Tom. Where's Tom?"

"Uh...," Matt started to say. Katie didn't like where this was going. She shook her head and began to cry.

"No, no, Katie," Maia said, trying to comfort her. "Tom's alive. We're going to find him soon. I promise."

"'Find him'?" Matt repeated in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Maia inhaled a deep breath and said, "We're going to look for him."

**---------------------**

Tom ran hurriedly across the parking lot. Where was he going? He didn't even know that answer. He shook his head frustratingly. Why had he wasted his time? He could've saved himself. Now he was zombie food!

"Dammit," he muttered to himself, looking for someplace to hide. There was nothing to hide behind. Absolutely nothing. Not even a car, for God's sake! He frowned, noticing how desperate he was to find somewhere to go. Tom looked behind him hurriedly and noticed that none of the zombies were paying attention to him. He creased his eyebrows and tried to focus on what they were looking at.

**---------------------**

"Well, we sure do have their attention!" Matt cried hastily. "Why, why, why? Why did I decide to come out here too?"

"Because you know you don't want to leave someone all by themselves," Maia said teasingly.

"Yeah. Sure," Matt said, rolling his eyes. He put his attention back on the horde of zombies. "Why the hell are they just looking at us?"

"Uh... I don't know," Maia admitted. Katie and Hailey shuddered at the site. They had just exited the building to go and find Tom. Maia knew that they couldn't stay in that attic forever, and Matt did as well, but he was too reluctant to admit it.

"What is so interesting?" Donald mumbled, looking behind them. There was nothing but more road and buildings.

"Their waiting for us to move, I'm assuming," Matt said, gripping tightly on the gun. He bit his lower lip and asked Maia without taking his eyes off the creatures, "Front or back?"

"Back, of course!" Maia said angrily, turning to face Tom. At least ten of twenty zombies started to moan again. Maia cried out, "Dang!"

"Time to run!" Matt cried, turning around hastily. They all followed suit and turned around and started to run.

"Where are we running to?" Matt asked, panting heavily.

"Just keep running!" Maia cried. "And don't even think about stopping!"

Holding onto Hailey's hand, Katie cried, "But...is this the way Tom went?"

"I-I don't know!" Maia admitted, having no idea that they were headed the wrong way.


	9. Rescued

It had been at least ten minutes from their invasion of zombies. Maia sighed, still panting, and shut her eyes.

"This was NOT a good idea!" Matt cried angrily.

"We have to find him!" Katie cried frantically. She gripped Hailey's hand.

"Okay, okay, stop," Maia said, as the two continued to yell. "C'mon, STOP!"

"Jeez, okay, I'll stop," Matt said, raising his arms defensively. Then there was an awkward silence.

"What was that?" Hailey asked, breaking the silence. She let go of Katie's hand. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Maia asked, suddenly alert.

"What?" Donald asked, frowning.

"That noise!" Katie asked, turning around. She gasped.

**-----------------**

"Oh, great," Tom mumbled, hiding behind a car. He poked his head out to the side, noticing that the zombies had stopped walking. "Why the hell did they stop?"

Then that's when he heard it.

Sirens.

**-----------------**

"People!" Kate cried in disbelief.

"Real, actually alive people!" Matt cried, his mouth in a giant 'O'. "Yes, w-we're SAVED!"

"Yahoo!" Hailey cried happily, clapping her hands. Maia immediately started to run to the truck with sirens, with everyone following her.

"Hey!" she yelled, waving her arms desperately. She was eager to get the peoples' attention. "Hey, HELLO?"

"Yay, they stopped!" Katie cried, finally smiling again. The car door opened and a woman came out.

"Survivors?" she asked, creasing her eyebrows in confusion. "Y-You guys are survivors?"

"Yeah!" Hailey said, grinning.

"...But we're still looking for someone!" Maia said, finally remembering Tom.

"Oh, yeah," Matt mumbled.

"Who?" the woman asked. "And where?"

"You mean you'll help us?" Donald asked. The woman nodded.

"Me and a few folks in the truck are here to help. That's why we're roaming around the freaking city in a truck. To help," she explained, shrugging. "Now get in, before those creeps become serious again."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The sirens," the lady said, pointing to the sirens on the top of the truck. She gestured for them to hurry. "Now get in!"

"Thank you!" Matt said, climbing in.

"What does this person look like?" she asked. Maia began to think hurriedly.

"Uh, blond-ish hair, which is messy, he's wearing normal clothes, too," Maia said, shrugging.

"We'll find him," the woman assured.

"Yeah, how hard is it to tell the difference of a zombie and a normal guy?" one of the other survivors joked, chuckling. Maia cracked a smile, but inside she wasn't sure what to feel.

"Wait. Who's that?" someone asked, sitting up in the passenger seat. Everyone turned their attention to where the man was pointing. "That him?" He pointed to a man looking up at the truck in disbelief, a hand on his injured arm. Maia's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Tom!" she cried happily. "T-That's him!"

"TOM!" Katie cried, jumping hurriedly out of the back of the truck. "TOM!"

"Katie...!" Tom said, looking at her as if they hadn't seen each other in forever. "Oh my god, it's you! It's YOU!"

"TOM!" Katie cried, throwing her arms around him, speechless of what to say. Maia also hurriedly jumped out of the back of the truck.

"Tom, y-you're alive!" she cried, her jaw dropping open. She didn't know what to feel. Startled, shocked, or happy. She thought she felt all three. She ran up to him and hugged him happily. Katie looked at Hailey as she walked out of the truck and smiled at her, waving.

**-----------------**

Seven years later, Katie looked at her brother, Tom, her new mom, Maia, and her new sister, Hailey. Placing her journal away, she sighed happily and asked aloud, "So, who wants to go trick-or-treating?"


End file.
